TEXTILES.ORG
Smart fabrics testing and standards under development
March 1st, 2024
A glove made on a Shima Seiki SWGN knitting machine on display at Advanced Textiles Expo 2023 in Orlando, Fla. The SWGN machine created the glove in 19 minutes at a speed of 1 meter (3.3 feet) per second, including a conductive yarn knit in the first two fingertips to allow the user to operate […]
Innovations in smart fabrics: Heating, cooling, bio-data collection and more via e-textiles
December 1st, 2023
A Loomia Electronic Layer (LEL) four-wire serpentine bus laminated onto knit fabric. The LEL was designed to be soft and flexible for use in smart textiles. Image: Loomia Technologies When is a jacket not just a jacket? When it can actually interact with the wearer’s body to warm or cool it or collect biometric information. […]
Spiders inspire smart textile fiber spinning method
December 1st, 2023
Drawing inspiration from how spiders spin silk to make webs, a research team from the National University of Singapore has developed a simple, efficient method to produce functional soft fibers that are suitable for smart textile electronics. Images: National University of Singapore In their efforts to develop a method to create soft fibers that are […]
Bluetooth-enabled slicker makes good horse sense
April 1st, 2022
Professors Chi Hwan Lee (right) and Laurent Couëtil (left) chat while observing a cardiac, respiratory and muscular test on a horse via Bluetooth technology at Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. A new study by Purdue University engineers and veterinarians explores how to convert off-the-shelf horse slickers into e-textiles that continuously monitor equine cardiac, respiratory and […]
Commercial viability boosts the visibility of wearable technology
January 1st, 2021
The Berlin-based startup Boltware collaborated with H&M Lab in Germany to create a denim jacket that uses sensing technology to give the wearer the feeling of being touched by a loved one. Photo: Boltware. by Marie O’Mahony In the midst of the reworking of so many segments of the textile industry due to the pandemic, […]
E-textile testing and standards are evolving
November 11th, 2020
At the 2020 Virtual Expo session, “Ask the Expert: Textile Electronics Testing and Standards,” Jesse Jur, a professor at the Wilson College of Textiles, North Carolina State University, discussed how standards and testing continue to evolve due to the evolution of textile-based electronics (e-textiles). Jur said that standards have long been a vital resource for […]
Understanding intelligent textiles
November 4th, 2020
The Advanced Textiles Conference of IFAI’s Virtual Expo 2020 continued Nov. 4 with a detailed presentation by Justine Decaens on “Smart Textiles: From Lab Prototypes to Commercial Products.” Decaens is R&D director with CTT Group, a testing laboratory and R&D facility specialized in technical textiles, headquartered in Quebec, Canada. Decaens first offered to define “smart […]
Virtual Expo 2020 advanced textiles education begins
November 3rd, 2020
The Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) opened the advanced textiles education sessions of Virtual Expo 2020 with a presentation by Dr. Sasha Stolyarov, CEO, Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA). His presentation, “The Development of Advanced Functional Fibers and Fabrics” outlined the progress made in AFFOA’s mission to “rekindle the domestic textiles industry” with its coordinated […]
Smart textile and e-textile solutions for indoor environments
September 1st, 2020
Technology and fabric advancements are fueling the development of smart textile and e-textile solutions for indoor environments. by Pamela Mills-Senn As the quest to add more functionality to interior spaces continues, smart fabrics and e-textiles are poised to make their own contributions, serving as platforms that can capture data, heat and cool, adjust lighting, entertain, […]
Succession Planning 101
February 1st, 2020
A seamless transfer of leadership in a family business requires hard conversations and a detailed road map to avoid the worst potholes and ensure a successful journey. by Jeff Moravec A family business can offer great rewards—personally and professionally—for its founders and their descendants. But a family business also presents unique challenges and requires careful […]